They're Coming
by Believe4Ever
Summary: They're coming, they're coming . . . Jack knows what is coming, and it's frightening. They're coming, they're coming . . . Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I really hope you guys enjoy this story! Right now it is said that it is 'incomplete' but really, I don't know if I should continue it or not. Let me know in the reviews and comments what you think.**

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_They're coming, they're coming, they're coming . . ._

The winds whispered around Jack Frost as he zoomed over the towns, tiny flakes of snow falling from his staff. A natural reaction from flying up in the air. But the fun of children weren't on Jack's mind at the moment. No, he was worrying. What were the winds telling him?

He had told North to call a meeting as soon as he could. Just now did he see the signal of lights in the sky, showing that a meeting was being called. Now the winds' whispers were more urgent, stronger, louder. Angrier. They wanted to protect something. But what? What was coming?

_Coming, they're coming, they're coming, they're coming . . .!_

The Winter Spirit suddenly skidded to a stop, eyes suddenly wide. The winds were explaining. They were finally explaining. And it scared him.

Jack erupted into North's workshop. Long ago had the large man installed a little chimney for Jack to come through, out of the yetis' reach and easily able to come in. The boy landed with a tuft of winter wind cushioning his landing. The rest of the guardians were already assembled. He looked across the room at them.

"What's dis 'bout, then, Frost?" Bunnymund asked, his usual annoyed tone entering his voice. Well it seemed that North had already explained that this was Jack's doing.

"The winds," the boy answered.

"What about the winds?" the Santa Claus asked.

"They're—"

_They're coming, they're coming . . . They're here . . ._

Jack's eyes widened, fear filling up to the brim. The guardians flinched at his sudden anxiety.

"What's wrong?" Toothiana squeaked.

"They're here," he whispered, his voice coated with dread. The winds were telling him. He knew what was coming . . . What was here . . .

"Who?"

"Who's 'ere?" Bunny demanded.

The windows suddenly smashed, the glass shattering everywhere. All the guardians jumped, and Toothiana shrieked, but Jack didn't move. He was too shocked, too numb to move.

"The shadows . . ." Jack whispered.

Suddenly shadows spread into the room, like serpents, turning every color a darker shade. North got out his swords, Bunny his boomerangs, Sandy got his sand ready and Toothiana just got defensive.

"Jack, move it!" North roared. They were too separated to get to the boy.

"They're here . . ." Jack mumbled again. Something was wrong. Very wrong. His eyes were too wide, his eyes glassy, and he wouldn't move . . . wouldn't move . . .

"Jack!" Bunny shouted again, voice crackling at the volume.

"Here . . . here . . . Can't stop . . . Doomed . . ."

"Jack, what's wrong?" Tooth pleaded.

The shadows jumped around, and surged toward each guardian, and they lost all concentration on anything besides needing to defend their selves.

North brought up his swords and blocked the oncoming attacks. He flicks away the shadows. Even though they were supposed to be a trick of light, they were actually solid. They could cause harm. They could kill. He fought off the shadows and concentrated on not letting them penetrate his flesh.

Bunnymund threw his boomerangs around, being careful to keep one with him at all times to defend. He deflected and tried to cause damage, which seemed to be working. He could feel the cries of the shadows as if they were living creatures.

"Are these things able to die?" the Easter Bunny demanded. He couldn't see anything past the blackness around him.

"I think so!" came the faint voice of Toothiana. A tiny shriek followed.

"Tooth!" North called.

The Tooth Fairy was dodging and flying around. She couldn't do much, she was practically defenseless. All she could do was wait for someone to help her.

"Sandy!" North shouted. A burst of golden dust appeared above them all, showing that Sandy was listening. "Help Tooth, if you can!"

Sandy nodded, accepting his task. He shot into the air, followed by a trail of golden sleep dust that blinded the shadows. Some disintegrated on the spot. The Sandman was able to make it to the Tooth Fairy with ease and assist her in destroying the beasts.

"Are these Pitch's shadows?" North demanded.

"No, it don't seem like it!" Bunny called, destroying another one. "Not enough class!"

"Too wild!" Tooth agreed.

North grumbled under his breath and continued fighting.

It took a while, but they finally defeated all the shadows in their midst. They had a couple scrapes, or cuts from where the shadow sped past them, but they weren't in horrible shape.

"Roll call!" North huffed. "I'm here, Bunny?"

"I'm alive," the bunny wheezed, exhausted.

"Tooth?"

"Present!" She rubbed her wings.

"Sandy!"

A tiny ring answered with a small sand-hand waving above Sandy's head in greeting.

"Jack?"

Their eyes widened and they turned instantaneously, back to where the boy had stood. Toothiana shrieked and gripped Bunny's arm. The Easter Bunny gave a strangled gasp. North's eyes were just wide in shock. Sandy's face was red.

Jack was lying on his back, twisted awkwardly, and his body was covered with wounds. It was apparent that he had been utterly defenseless during the attack. His staff was discarded a few feet away, the wood looking lonely without its owner. Jack himself wasn't moving.

They rushed toward him, Toothiana grabbing his staff and North kneeling down to lift the boy a little.

"Jack!" the Santa Clause murmured. "Wake up, Jack."

"I am awake," he mumbled. His eyes were still paralyzed wide and glassy. "They're still here . . ."

Bunnymund looked around defensively. "We destroyed ta last of 'em, Frost!"

"Still here . . . They'll be back . . ." His eyes moved for the first time, sharply toward North, tears forming around the rim. "We're doomed . . ." The boy's head fell back, eyes closed, passed out.

"Jack!" they shouted.

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**I'm sorry, I'm always hurting the characters I love most. I'm not sure if I should continue this, could you tell me what you think on the reviews? Thank you, it's much appreciated. I'd like to know what you liked, disliked, want more of, ideas, or really any criticism! Thank you so much, I love all of my followers!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the second chapter of this story! I really hope you guys like it, because I have so much fun writing this. I'm so thankful I have people who read and review my stories, because it motivates me to write even more, which in turn, makes you guys happy. Thank you so much for continuing to read this and I hope you review!**

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_They're coming, they're coming . . . Coming to torture, coming to bleed, coming for death, as they have decreed . . . They're here for destruction, for fear, for pain, they're here for a reason so simple and plain . . . Here for us, here for you, here for the Guardian of cold white and blue . . ._

Jack Frost jerked awake, a strangled gasp erupting from his lips that soon turned into fearful shrieks, the same kind of screams that came with a young child's nightmares. A thin layer of cold sweat covered his face, which only turned colder now that he was conscious.

"Jack!" Tooth cried, jumping up from her seat. They had taken him to the medical wing of the workshop, where they had patched him up and laid him in one of the hospital beds. She fluttered over to the boy, stroking his hair. "It's okay, it's okay . . ." Sandy rushed over as well, sprinkling some of his special sand over the boy to soothe him.

The other two guardians stood in stunned silence off to the side. Jack had always been the playful, strong guardian that wouldn't let things get to him, but having him scream like that was just as bad as listening to a young child falling victim to Pitch. It was really painful, seeing one of the most powerful spirits in the world seeming so . . . helpless.

It took about ten minutes, but the boy finally calmed down enough to just give quiet sobs into Tooth's shoulder. After another five minutes, he was quiet and sitting hunched over, a hard expression on his face. It was hard to tell if he was embarrassed, still frightened, or just thinking.

"Jack," North said quietly. "Are you feeling well again?"

"Yeah, I guess," the boy sighed, closing his eyes.

"Did Pitch send you a nightmare?"

Jack shook his head. "This wasn't Pitch . . . This was the winds."

Now Bunnymund looked confused. "The winds?"

"Yes . . . They seemed to be whispering a sort of . . . prophecy to me."

"Prophecy?"

"Yes . . . It was eerie, but seemed so . . . detailed . . ." Tears appeared in the boy's eyes once again.

"Jack," the Tooth Fairy soothed, "did you know about the . . . prophecy before? During the fight?"

Jack nodded. "Part of it . . ."

"What part?"

The boy gulped. He took a deep breath and recited, "_'The creatures made of black and dark, will come forth and make their mark. The creatures made of shadow and death, will become forth to stop one's breath. They have the power, they have the drive, to make one fear and their needs deprive. They will stop at nothing less, than making sure there's one Guardian's death.'_"

The guardian's eyes were wide, each one having their own reaction, but each essentially the same: fear.

"Do you think . . . that it was meant for you?" Tooth whispered. "Is that why you seemed so frightened?" The boy nodded, his cheeks turning a very pale shade of pink, blushing. "It's all right, Jack, we all would've been scared."

"You don't know it's going to be you," North murmured. With that statement alone, everyone knew what he meant, what he feared: if it wasn't Jack, then it was one of them.

"I dreamt of another part of the prophecy," he mumbled,

The guardians leaned forward, eager to hear it.

"_' Coming to torture, coming to bleed, coming for death, as they have decreed. They're here for destruction, for fear, for pain, they're here for a reason so simple and plain. Here for us, here for you, here for the Guardian of cold white and blue. One's end is drawing near, the newest guardian will be shown his fear. The skies above will run black, shadows overpowering, Guardians' powers lack. The children's safety will come down to the one choice, to cause remorse or cause to rejoice.'_"

Everyone's face was drained. They glanced at each other, each wondering what the future would behold.

"Jack," North started, "you know that prophecies are usually vague, and have alternate meanings, right?"

"What can be vague about that?!" His voice was suddenly loud and angered. "What about 'here for the Guardian of cold white and blue'? 'One's end is drawing near'? 'The newest guardian'? Yes, it's _so_ vague!"

Bunny cowered slightly at his sudden outburst. Jack blinked and looked back down at his lap. "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant . . . I just . . ."

"It's all right," Tooth eased, rubbing his back. "You have every right to be upset."

"But I don't have the right to take it out on you guys." The boy sighed and gripped the back of his head, bringing his forehead to his knees in frustration. He mumbled something.

"What?" she asked, nearly as quiet as he was.

"I don't want to die . . ."

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**Aw, poor Jack! I'm sorry if I'm messing with your guys' emotions, but that's what I'm going for, so if I did, I feel accomplished. Anyway, please review because I'm really looking forward to how you guys feel about this! I'm having fun writing this, even though the prophecy was hard to create. So review and let me know how you feel throughout the story! Thanks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I felt as though the last line of the previous chapter was heartbreaking—in my opinion—so I hope that you all will forgive me if your emotions messed with you. Anyhow, here is the next chapter with some slight implications of the JackxBunnymund shipping, but it's only friendship and comfort. I know that there hasn't been much horror as of late, and this chapter is more of an emotional one, but there is going to be some horror coming up, okay? Enjoy!**

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After a couple of hours, Jack finally felt well enough to get out of the medical wing. He left the wing and took off out of the workshop. He had said that he needed to clear his head, but the guardians warned him not to do anything irrational.

"I'll be fine," he said, just before he took off.

As he was fading away into the distance, North turned to Bunnymund. "Will you follow him?" the Santa Claus asked. The Easter Bunny nodded, going through one of his bunny holes so he could keep up with the speeding spirit.

It took a lot of guessing and chase work to finally find where Jack had flown off to, but he tracked down the boy at the frozen lake he'd made his permanent home. The village that used to be placed by it had slowly disappeared as people migrated to larger areas further away, so he stayed there in solitude when he didn't have anywhere else to go.

Bunny stayed back, not wanting to intrude on the boy's privacy, but he watched to make sure that he didn't do anything ridiculous. For a while, he just skated on the ice in his bare feet, occasionally making some ice patterns on the ice using his staff. Mostly he'd just look up to the sky, as if watching for the skies to turn black, like in the prophecy.

_Or looking for the man in the moon, _the Easter spirit thought. _The poor kid . . . He's only been a guardian for, what? A few hundred years? Not long at all . . . And yet now he has all that responsibility._

As Bunny was watching the young Jack Frost, the boy himself was twirling around on the ice like an expert ice skater, quietly talking to himself.

"The prophecy was pretty clear," he muttered, doing a small twirl and landing with an extended leg creating powder among the smooth surface. "I'm going to die by the time this adventure is over. But, how can that be? How can I just die? Don't I get a choice, a say? What kind of choice do I have to make in order to save the children's innocence?"

He continued skating and muttering about the whys and hows and how-can-this-possibly-happens until he got tired. Then he just jumped up onto his staff in the center of the ice, staring up at the sky.

"Why?" he finally asked, his voice coming out like a small child's. A small, innocent, helpless child's. "Why do I have to go through with this? I know why you saved me all those centuries ago, but why does it suddenly have to end? Why do I have to know about it?" Tears once again came to his eyes. "I gave my life to save my sister, because she was everything that I cared about, but now she's gone. But now I'm responsible for every single one of the children's fun and innocence in the world. Olivia in Wisconsin, Tommy in Ireland, Mel in Britain, Tanya in Brazil . . . Jamie, even. I'm responsible for their fun, for their joy, for their _innocence _and I'm supposed to keep that sacred and give up my life to help them? You know I'd do that in a _second _if I had to, but why did you have to tell me about it?"

Jack thought back to the nightmare he had been having when he woke up in the medical wing. He hadn't told them about the other parts. The shadows encasing him, the heat surrounding him, the dread filling in his throat, suffocating him until he couldn't even breathe. It had all seemed so real and now he was going to have to give up his life . . . It just didn't seem like it could be happening.

"WHY NOW?!" he shouted, suddenly jumping down from his staff onto the ice. He heard tiny cracks under his toes as his voice echoed around him. It just reminded him of the fact that his body—his _real _body—was probably still floating aimlessly in the lake, far below. He almost wanted to go down there, just to honestly see the real him, but after a few centuries the body would be rotted away to just a skeleton. That's how things worked. And he didn't think he could stand the thought of the only piece of the real, _original _him being destroyed so easily.

"WHY DO I HAVE TO BE DOING THIS _NOW?!_"

His voice was screeching, a volume so loud and piercing that the birds flew out of the branches. Spirits could affect animals, because animals knew that they existed. They didn't have to be convinced that they existed. Jack was exhausted, and he was done with pondering over why he had to do this. He just wanted to know the answer.

"Answer me!" he shouted, looking up toward the moon. It was a crescent, a perfect shape for the man to rest on, like it was a rocking chair. "Answer me, please! Tell me why I have to take part in this prophecy! What choice do I have to make? Why do I have to give my life for the good of the children? Why can't we all . . . work together . . .?"

His voice died down and he broke down in the middle of the lake, sobbing. This was too much for him. He was a carefree spirit. He wasn't supposed to worry about stuff like death, or sacrifice, or morbid choices. He was supposed to be the one that brought the snow days, made snow fights into fun, and helped every child enjoy the holidays.

But now he was going to die.

"Hey, Frost." The voice was soft, and comforting, but familiar. The boy looked up, eyes already stained red from his salty tears. He found Bunnymund standing over him, much taller now that Jack was kneeling down on the ice, cutting his height in half. But the bunny's eyes were pitying, sympathetic, and all too comforting. The exact thing Jack needed.

"It's not fair," the boy whispered, his head hanging again.

"I know it's not." The Easter Bunny crouched down so he was just a head taller than the boy. He put one of his large paws on the boy's back. "But ya gotta do this for the good of the kids."

"I know that! I want to help them. I would never dare let children be harmed or die if I was able to help, but . . . My death? Isn't that a little extreme?"

"Sometimes some things need to be extreme in order to get the best results . . ."

Jack's shoulders started shaking as he started to sob all over again.

_Poor kid, _Bunnymund thought, his heart cracking. His big, furry arms reached over and encased the boy in a hug. Jack hugged back, burying his face into the bunny's soft fur. It felt so safe, so perfect to be surrounded by such warmth and fluff. It made Jack almost think he wasn't a guardian any longer, and instead was just another child the guardians had to comfort.

"I know you're going to do the right thing," the Easter Bunny whispered. "I know that you're going to help the children. You're going to do the best thing. And everyone will know that Jack Frost was the one who did it. Everyone is going to know that Jack Frost was, is, and always will be the best guardian ever created."

Jack sniffed. "You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. You're the one who knows how children act, what they like, how they react to certain things. You know how to make them smile. You know how to make them so . . . like kids."

"I'm just a winter spirit."

"You're more than that! You're _Jack Frost, _defender of children's happiness and creator of winter fun." He released the boy and brought up his chin so that they were looking each other in the eyes. "This is going to work out, all right? Everything is going to work out. This is all going to end soon."

_Right, _the boy thought, feeling his emotions well up again. _It's going to end with my death._

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**That concludes chapter three! I hope you guys are enjoying it, still. I find it entertaining. Anyway, I know that you all are probably wondering how everything is going to turn out, so I promise that the next chapter is going to really move the plot forward with the return of the shadows. Keep on the lookout, and please review with your reactions! Thank you so much.**


	4. Chapter 4

The guardians all had been preparing. North had been making sure that his workshop had enough weapons for the yetis and himself. He had made sure that the elves understood to hide underground if a fight would ensue, since that they probably weren't bright enough to defend themselves properly.

Bunny got different eggs, some explosive, some with gas, and some that have healing potions. He knew that the gas probably wouldn't affect the shadows, but there had to be someone behind this whole thing, and the gas would help with defeating the real enemy.

Tooth was training her tiny fairies different diversions for the shadows. "Up, down, barrel roll! Come on girls, you can do this" she encouraged, showing them the different routines.

Sandy was practicing controlling his sand faster and more maneuverable. He was getting better at it and he practiced how to destroy darkness using feelings of children's wonderful dreams.

Meanwhile, Jack was practicing in the air over different villages. He sprayed snow and zoomed through the air, changing the air currents in order to get from one point to another. He felt as though his speed had to be supersonic, his snow had to be colder than ice, and he had to be fully prepared . . .

To die.

He shook his head. He wasn't going to focus on this. He was going to focus on preparing, on _surviving._

The boy shot up higher into the air, above the clouds to where the air was thin and mist obscured his vision.

"Are they on their way yet?" he asked, floating still so the winds can freely talk around him. They were silent. "Please, answer me!"

_They're coming, they're coming, they're coming . . ._

Jack gave a growl of frustration, gripping his hair. "I know that they're coming! Can't you tell me anything else? Where are they? How close?"

_Coming, they're coming, they're coming . . ._

"I know that already!" He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm down. He just sat in the air, floating on the air, like he was meditating. He simply waited for the winds to tell him the answer, rather than trying to fight. After all, wind spirits never did do as one asked.

_They're near . . ._

"How near?" he asked in a kind, patient voice.

_Very . . . _

"How many miles?"

_Less . . . Less . . ._

"Can't you please—?"

Suddenly he heard shrieks, calls, and hissing. It sounded far off, yet so close. The boy opened his eyes wide, only to see that the haze was too thick to see a thing. He dropped down in altitude, just below the clouds, and saw the shadows zipping toward him, zigzagging in the air. Fear crept up into his throat.

"Concentrate, concentrate," he told himself. After taking another deep breath, he took off toward the shadows, staff outstretched. He shot out some ice shards, sending them straight into the front shadows, which gave a shrill shriek and disappeared. The next shadows shot at the boy, mouths morphing onto their formless bodies and sharp teeth bore at him. He leapt into midair, the teeth just barely grazing the edge of his heel. His staff was brought down hard onto one shadow's back, freezing it into solid ice and then shattering, falling down to the ground like fresh snow. But the snow was black, like ash.

"This isn't good," he muttered, taking a split second to watch the dark ash. "The kids are going to wonder what this is . . ."

A loud, animal call interrupted his thoughts. He tried to jerk away when he saw one massive shadow barreling toward him, but was too late and was smashed into, sent catapulting backward into the air, winds knocking him every which way. His chest suddenly felt like it was on fire and Jack figured that one, if not more, of his ribs here broken.

"Jack!"

The boy looked over to find North riding in his sleigh. "I thought I heard some screeching while I was out testing the new sleigh, so I came to investigate. You must get out of there!"

The Winter Spirit gulped, looking around. It was true. The shadows were surrounding him, snapping at him with their great jaws and growling deeply.

"Wouldn't they have killed me already?" Jack called out, wincing at the pain in his chest.

"What?"

"I mean, they do have the advantage in numbers, so why are their attacks so weak?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"I don't know, maybe . . . maybe they want me to take me to the person behind this?"

"Jack don't be ridiculous!"

"I'm not being ridiculous!" He looked at the shadows. "Did your master want to meet me?"

The shadows almost seemed to nod in answer. North licked his lips anxiously. "But—"

"North! Frost!" The two looked down to see Bunnymund staring up at them from the ground. "Get out of there!"

The Santa Claus looked at the boy. "Jack, please!"

"It's the only way to meet the enemy!" the boy argued. He looked at the shadows. "Take me to your master, whoever he is!"

North's eyes widened as the shadows dove onto the boy, encasing him like a cocoon. The last thing he saw was the boy's frightened eyes and he seemed to be calling out something, but it was lost in the maniacal cheering of the shadows. "Jack!" he shrieked.

"Frost!" Bunny screeched from the ground.

Then the shadows shot up into the haze, gone from their sight.

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**I hope you guys enjoyed reading this, and I hope that this has moved the plot forward, now that Jack may or may not be going to see the shadows' master. Keep an eye out for the next chapter, would should be up soon, and review in the meanwhile to let me know what you thought when you read this chapter! Thank you.**


	5. Chapter 5

**For this chapter, I wanted to get in the guardian's reactions to Jack's kidnapping before we move onto Jack and the mastermind behind all of this. I apologize for the chapter being so short, but I really wanted to add this in, so this is really just a filler chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

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"He's gone?!" Toothiana cried when North and Bunny gave her the news.

"It appears so," North sighed, sitting in a chair.

"You could've done something!" Bunny growled, glaring at the Santa Claus. "You could've helped him!"

"I told you, he wanted to be taken!"

"Why would he voluntarily be taken?"

"Because he wanted to meet the person behind this whole thing."

"They're going to kill him, just as the prophecy said!"

"Well what choice was there, then? What was this grave choice that was supposed to either benefit or cause harm to the children of the world?"

Bunny's face soured. "I don't know. Maybe the fact that he wasn't supposed to be taken, that he was supposed to fight!"

"Bunny, please," Tooth whispered, looking at him with sad eyes. "I'm sure that Jack knows what he's doing."

"Does he?" Bunny cried. "He's just a child! He still has the mind of a little kid. What if he doesn't know what he got himself into? What if he was going to get hurt, very badly? What if he was supposed to die without defending children from whoever is behind this?!"

"Then we'd fight in his place," North said gruffly. "Jack has as much faith in us as we should have in him. He will return, he will escape from this person. We all know Jack's ability. He defeated Pitch."

"_We _defeated pitch," Tooth corrected.

"Even so, he wasn't afraid to stand up to him. He wasn't afraid to try just as hard as the rest of us, if not more. He never gave up hope. He didn't even give up when no one could see him!"

They were silent. All of them were well aware of the fact that Jack had been ignored by children for several centuries. They vaguely knew how horrible it felt to be ignored, to not be believed in. Back when Pitch almost defeated them, the children had slowly stopped believing in them, causing them to fade away as well. Luckily Jack had made the last child on earth believe in both him and the rest of the guardians.

"He is a strong kid," Bunny admitted. "But that doesn't mean he can take care of this alone!"

"Everything will be fine," Tooth assured, giving him a sad smile. "I'm sure everything will work out . . ."

Sandy suddenly stiffened up, ears perking. The others looked at him and he gave them the sign to tell them to shush. They went silent and suddenly they heard it, deafening loud, because all guardians were connected. When they were in the most danger, they were able to connect.

They were able to hear Jack's tortured shriek.

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**And that's where I'm ending this chapter. I promise that the next chapter is going to be Jack meeting the person behind this entire thing. Hopefully the chapter will be longer than usual to make up for the lack of length on this one. Please review and let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

Jack couldn't see anything past the darkness of the shadows. He felt utterly useless as the shadows tied his hands together and his legs together and carried him toward . . . wherever they were going. One of the shadows held his staff away from his reach, so if they decided to drop him, he would be doomed.

There's that word again.

_Doomed . . . doomed . . ._

It seemed like the winds were chanting the word over and over in his head. That, along with _Drawing nearer . . . nearer . . ._

It was nerve wracking, not having any idea where they were, where they were going, or what the winds meant with their mindless chanting. What he could tell was that he was slowly traveling closer to some place warmer.

_Where are they taking me? Who is the person responsible for all of this?!_

He finally felt the shadows moving downward. He couldn't tell where they were, since the lighting never changed, being trapped in a cyclone of shadows and all. But after a while he heard the shadows' growls and hisses start to echo, and he assumed they were going underground now.

Pitch seemed like a very reasonable suspect.

_Not him . . . not him . . . _whispered the winds.

_If not him, then who?! _Jack thought angrily. He tried to wriggle out of the shadow's hold, only to feel a nip of pain when they bit him. He stopped trying to escape.

After several more minutes, he found that he was blinded by the shadows keeping close to his eyes—far too close for comfort—and felt his body being placed very roughly in a chair. The shadows holding down his arms and legs released, but before he could react, other shadows tied him to the chair so tightly he could barely flex his muscles for some breathing room.

"Let him see," came a voice. It was cold and cruel, but seemed familiar to Jack. Too familiar.

The shadows disappeared from in front of his eyes and Jack found himself face to face with . . .

Himself.

Jack's eyes were wide as he stared at a boy who looked _exactly _like him. He had the same face shape, same attire, and same . . . everything.

Except not.

This boy didn't seem to be at all like Jack. When he grinned, it seemed like a genuinely happy smile, like one he'd give to Jamie after a good snowball fight, but his eyes were hard and cruel. They seemed to stab Jack right in the heart, just with one glance. But his stare was so penetrating that it made Jack feel even colder than he already was, if that was even possible.

"Who . . . are you?" Jack choked out, almost too stunned to speak.

"I'm Jack," the duplicate answered, again with that warm smile paired with cold eyes.

"No, I'm Jack."

"I never said I was Jack _Frost, _right? No, I'm Jack, but not Frost."

"Then who _are _you?"

The double's smile curled upward, turning just as eerie as his eyes. "Jack Nightmare. Or the Opposite You."

"What?!"

"You heard me. I'm your opposite, Frost. I'm the one that can use elements that you have been forbidden from using . . . or are just afraid to use."

"Shadows."

"Yes, I can control the shadows, but I can also control this." He outstretched his hand so it was just inches from Jack's nose. His hand flexed and suddenly fire danced on his fingertips, giving off an extremely abnormal amount of heat from just tiny flames.

"G-Get that away from me!" Jack hissed, trying to wriggle out of his seat. The fire made him feel tired and made him feel as though his body was melting down to water.

Jack Nightmare's smile only grew and he withdrew his hand, the flames extinguishing. "As you wish, my Opposite."

"How . . . How do you even exist?"

"I'm an anomaly. A defect. Something created with accidental results." The Opposite stared at Jack with hard eyes, his smile gone. He almost seemed to be measuring Jack on a scale, like trying to figure out just how much they were alike.

"How were you created? _Who _created you?!"

The double gave a low laugh, menacing and frightening. "I was idealized by the Man in the Moon, formed by Pitch Black, and created by Jamie Bennett."

Jack felt as if a knife set to one thousand degrees had just been stabbed into his chest. "No . . . No, Jamie wouldn't have . . ." Another thing bothered Jack: how had Jack Nightmare been idealized by the _Man in the Moon?_

"Yet he did. Like I said, I'm an anomaly. I'm something that wasn't intended to be created in the form that I did."

"Then what happened? Why were you created like this?"

"Soon after you and the guardians had defeated Pitch, he had gone into solitude. He didn't want anything to do with the outside world, save for the fear that fed him and kept him alive. But one day, he felt too lonely. He felt too much like a failure. So he visited the Man in the Moon.

"He had gone to the highest point in his accessibility on a full moon night, and talked to the Man in the Moon. In reality, the Man in the Moon was actually very pitiful toward Pitch. He almost regretted creating the poor being. So when Pitch explained how he felt as if he wasn't able to continue in this world, that he needed _someone _in this world with him, the Man in the Moon suggested you."

"Me?" Jack was stunned. "Why in the world—"

"Let me finish," the double growled, his eyes piercing Jack's soul. "Anyhow, Pitch declined, saying that there was no way that he would go to you for anything. The Man in the Moon explained how you both had been created in the same way: brought into this world without memory of their former lives. Pitch still declined, insisting that there was no way you two would ever get along. So the Man in the Moon declined to help in any way in finding a companion.

"Pitch decided that he would take things into his own hands. He decided to find a normal boy, someone that rarely ever had nightmares, and give him a frightful dream so horrible that Pitch would be able to use his power to create someone for himself. The boy that he prayed upon was Jamie."

Jack's stomach lurched. Pitch had messed with Jamie, the one boy that didn't stop believing in the guardians, the first person ever to see him. He made a mental note to find the boogeyman and give him a solid punch in nose.

"Jamie happened to be dreaming of you," the Opposite continued, fingering Jack's staff, which the shadows had brought to him around the part where Pitch was doing things his own way. "So when Pitch put the nightmares into the boy's mind, he dreamt of a Jack where he could use fire, and he would use fire in a horrible way. He'd burn down houses, trap children inside of them, or even just destroyed snow days for good. It was reasonably frightening for a boy of his age.

"Pitch was unaware of the fact that Jamie was dreaming of a Jack Frost opposite of the real one, so when he used the massive amounts of fear pumping from Jamie, he created the first image of a person that came from the fear. You. Or, should I say, Me.

"Since I was dreamt up with the ability to use fire, and I was born out of the Shadow Lord's hands, I earned both abilities to control the two elements. And the knowledge that I was not the only Jack in this world. I was angered, of course, that I was a copy, so I escaped from Pitch and started planning a way to destroy you. A way to make me the one and only spirit, Jack."

Jack's eyes were wide, fear coating everything else that he felt in his throat. "So you are just like me . . . except you use fire and shadows instead of ice and light-hearted fun?"

"Precisely. Oh, and I should mention . . ." The Opposite set down Jack's staff and floated into the air on his back, smirking like he was doing something astronomical. "I don't need a staff to levitate."

Fear was spreading throughout Jack's veins, now. This Jack Nightmare was going to kill him. This Jack Nightmare was _evil _and created by _Jamie_. There was nothing he could do, since he was tied up by the surprisingly strong shadow creatures.

"So you're going to kill me, now?" he whispered, voice quivering. The Opposite stopped floating around and looked at him, almost surprised.

"Kill? Well, of course I will, but not immediately. Oh, no, with every good villain is a good torture session."

"So . . . you admit that you're a villain?"

"I am perfectly aware of the fact that I was born of fear and evil's desires. I am aware that I am defined as a 'villain' to most people. But I am also aware of the fact that I have my own free will, my own free desires, and my own free ability to do as I want. Therefore, I'm going to torture you, just to please myself." He grinned, malice obvious throughout his entire face. "What fun this will be."

Jack's eyes were starting to tear up as the double inched closer. "Let's start with fire, shall we?" Jack Nightmare hissed, sending flames straight at the boy.

Jack's screams echoed louder than he'd ever sounded.

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**I feel a little cruel, doing this to Jack. I got the idea of the Opposite Jack/Jack Nightmare from a picture by Breetroad on Deviantart. Anyhow, I think that the plot just got interesting. Jack has a double! Not only that, but an evil double. This can make for some really great plot twists, which I hope you will stay tuned to read. Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter. Thank you.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I feel so accomplished with this fan fiction. Nineteen reviews, eleven followers, and seven favorites? Not to mention the people following my profile. I'm so glad that you all like this fan fiction! And you guys telling me to update just motivates me to now end. Anyway, I won't keep you, and I'll let you continue reading. Please review!**

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"Feeling a little tired?" Jack Nightmare smirked, circling the chair.

Jack breathed heavily, his chest heaving and his sweatshirt smoldering. Because of his body temperature, his body didn't get burned badly, but the lower ends of his pants had been seared to ash and his sweater was smoldering on the edges. Sweat was beading on his forehead and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

"Don't feel like answering?" continued the double. Jack looked up, glaring at his clone.

"D-Don't even think . . . you're breaking me . . ." the real Jack huffed. "That can't . . . hurt me!"

"Ah, the bravery of the hero. So overused in movies and books nowadays, isn't it?"

"It works . . ."

"Perhaps . . ." Jack Nightmare got his evil grin on again. "Except that if I can't break you physically, I will mentally."

Before Jack Frost could ask what his Opposite meant, the Opposite shot shadows toward him. But these were different. They were almost transparent, thinner, and didn't seem threatening.

Until they shoved their way into Jack's mouth.

/

_Jack opened his eyes, startled to find that he was no longer in the dank, dark underground cavern. Instead, he found himself back at North's workshop, surrounded by the other guardians._

_"Oh, this is a relief," Jack sighed, giving a weak smile._

_The guardians didn't give him a single glance, but continued talking._

_"I don't know how to make Easter 'more fun'!" Bunny growled, glaring at North._

_"You know that the children are getting bored," the Santa Claus chided._

_"Hey, guys?" Jack asked once again. He walked over to them—not noticing that he still doesn't have his staff—and stood in the middle of the circle. "Hey, guys!"_

_"Fewer kids are leaving their teeth," Tooth said sadly, seeming to look straight through Jack and at North._

_"Hey!" Jack waved his hands in front of Tooth's face. "Guys, this isn't funny!"_

_"It's all right, Tooth, come here," North said, spreading his arms. Tooth went forward to receive the hug . . . going right through Jack._

_The Winter Spirit froze, feeling the unnatural chill run through his body that always accompanied the walk-through. But this was worse. This was a chill so cold that it burned him, worse than Nightmare's fire._

_"No," he whispered, swiveling around. "No! You guys can see me! You're guardians—_I'm _a guardian! You have to see me! I can't be alone again!"_

_But they didn't pay any ounce of attention to him. They simply continued talking about their own holidays and their own problems. They didn't know that their favorite child, Jack Frost, even existed._

/

Jack Nightmare smiled with joy as Jack struggled in the chair. His Nightmare Minions were doing their job well. He could only imagine what the deepest fear in Jack's heart was. He could only imagine what horrors were being shown to him, what he was experiencing.

Jack gave strangled noises, like he was being choked. His hands clenched and unclenched. His breathing went by at a sickeningly quick pace. His double relished every second of it.

"_Struggle, little Jack Frost,_" Nightmare sang, to the tune of _Hush Little Baby. _"_Cry out in pain. Little Jackie Nightmare gonna make you go insane. Let your heart race, let your breath stop. Let everyone know their hopes must drop. Let them see who you really are. With the last explosion of an innocent star . . ."_

Jack jerked awake, with another loud shriek. The Nightmare Minions exited his mouth during the screams. Nightmare smiled at him. "Nice dreams?"

"What did you do? What was that?!"

"That was pure Pitch Fear. I upgraded his Nightmares into Nightmare Minions, which reaches deep into the soul to pull out the worst fear in the person's mind."

Tears were brimming in Jack's eyes. "That . . . Th-That . . ."

"Oh, I see it was really horrible . . . How nice."

A sudden screeching interrupted their conversation. Nightmare looked up to see one of his shadows signaling to him. "Looks like your guardian friends are here." Nightmare looked at Jack and gave an evil smile. He snapped his fingers and suddenly, their appearances completely changed.

Jack looked normal, not beat up, not wounded, he didn't even feel pain. He was released from the chair and he stood, suddenly grateful to be able to move. Then he looked over to Nightmare, to see that _he _suddenly had all the wounds that had magically disappeared off of Jack.

"What the . . .?" Jack sputtered before suddenly shadows encircled his hands. Nightmare fell before Jack, shielding his face just as the four guardians burst into the door.

"Jack?" they all shouted, suddenly confused to see two of their friend.

"HELP!" Nightmare shrieked, his voice coated in pain and fear. He looked over to the guardians with pleading eyes, tears filling. "He's disguised himself as me; he's going to kill me!"

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**And there's the clincher! I hope you all understand what I'm getting at, with the end of this chapter. I'm pretty sure you all understand, though. Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter, and of Jack Nightmare himself, including his new plan. I'm very curious to know what you guys think. Thank you.**


	8. Chapter 8

_No . . . No, this can't be happening!_

Jack shook his hands, trying to get rid of the shadows. They clung to him without any sign of letting go. "D-Don't listen to him!" he sputtered, looking over at his friends. "He's a fake! He's trying to trick you!"

"You've got to be joking!" Nightmare cried, trying to scramble away. "N-North, please, you can't be falling for this!"

The guardians looked confused, looking between the two of them. It was obvious that they were trying to figure out which one was which.

"I can't tell which is which," Tooth whispered, eyes shifting between the two of them nervously.

"Tooth, it's _me!_" Jack cried, his voice attaining a pleading tone.

"He's a liar!" Nightmare argued.

"No, you are!"

The two Jacks stared at each other, each one showing hate, glancing at the guardians and showing their pain, and each having different thoughts racing through their minds.

_They can't be falling for this, _Jack thought frantically, not believing that he got into this situation. _They can't fall for this! They have to believe me . . . they have to understand that _I'm _Jack Frost!_

The guardians didn't have a clue.

_Where's my staff? Where's my staff?!_

"Jus' let 'em show which one can use his snow tricks," Bunny grumbled.

"They're not tricks!" both of the Jacks argued.

"Well get on with it, the real one."

Jack tried to shake the shadows from his hands, but they refused to get off. "I . . . I can't! These shadows won't—go—away!"

"Too . . . hurt," Nightmare choked. Jack felt disgusted by the level of acting talent his evil twin possessed.

"Guys, it's _me!_" the real Jack pleaded, looking at them. "Why can't you just get that? Attack the other one! He was born out of Pitch's neediness and greed! Just get _him!_"

"Don't, please!" Nightmare cried with just as much pain as the real Jack.

The guardians looked wearily at the two of them.

_They're actually doubting . . . they're being hesitant . . . I could die because of this!_

Jack growled in frustration. "All right, fine!" He turned back to his double and pounced on him, prepared to beat him up until he got rid of that ridiculous form, if he had to. Nightmare shrieked and suddenly Jack found himself being lifted up into the air.

"Help Jack up!" Jack heard Tooth's voice demand above him.

"NO!" he shouted, his limbs struggling to get down. "No, no, no! That's not me! I'M ME!"

The others ignored him and helped Nightmare to his feet, limping and leaning against Bunnymund. "C-Can you find my staff . . .?" he asked weakly, looking at North.

The Santa Claus nodded. "Of course, but you're not going to be flying in your condition."

"I get it . . . I don't really want to . . ." He looked up and glared at his double, but Jack saw a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. "I can't believe Pitch created . . . _that._"

"No he didn't!" Jack argued, tears filling his eyes. "He created you! Guys, please, don't do this!"

"He's certainly a good actor," Bunny said, tilting his head up at Jack. "I almost want to believe him . . ."

"Well he's not," Tooth spat. "Why would the enemy be beat up and our Jack have shadows on his hands?"

"BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HE PLANNED TO HAVE HAPPEN!" Jack shrieked at the top of his lungs, thrashing about. Tooth cried out and nearly dropped him, but Sandy came up and threw some of his sleeping dust into Jack's face. "S-Sandy . . . n-no . . ."

Jack felt his consciousness slip from him and slowly everything turned black. _Don't believe . . . the Nightmare . . ._

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**Then there's the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I also hope that it made you very curious as to what is now going to happen to Jack Frost and Jack Nightmare! Please review to get me to want to write even more!**


	9. Chapter 9

Jack awoke groggy and disoriented. He never realized just how strong Sandy's sand could be when he wanted it to be. He tried to ask where he was but it came out like garbled, jumbled up rubbish.

"What was that, Nightmare?"

The Winter Spirit blinked and looked up, finding the guardians staring at him from behind some bars. He barely recalled that North had a cage for bad elves, bad yetis, or evil spirits who happened to find themselves in his clutches. It was vaguely in his recollection that there was some kind of gloves on his hands. He suddenly became more aware when he realized where he was. He was at the North Pole, in North's workshop.

In a cage.

"Guys!" he cried, running up to the bars. They flinched and a couple reached for their weapons. "Hey, what are you doing? Let me out! Come on, guys!"

"He's still going on with it," North sighed, staring with pity at him. Wait, _pity? _They pitiedhim?

"No," he whispered, eyes widening and backing away, eyes widening. "You guys still . . . believe that I'm not . . ."

"We know you're not Jack," Tooth growled, eyes dark. "You . . . You trickster!"

"Tooth . . ." Tears welled up in Jack's eyes. They thought he was the enemy. They thought he betrayed him. It was . . . It hurt. Like a sword, straight through his heart. He looked away, trying to not show weakness. If they really thought that he was the enemy, then they shouldn't see him when he cried. It might just anger them. "What are these gloves?"

"They keep your powers from working," Bunny explained, bitterness in his voice that was almost unrecognizable. Jack hadn't heard it since they became friends, back when they'd insult each other and make the other want to tear the hair—or fur—out of the other.

"Why would you put these on me?"

"Frost told us how you kin use shadow and fire. No wonder you hurt Frost so badly, Nightmare."

"Nightmare?" Jack perked up at the name. "He told you _I'm _Nightmare?!"

"It's plainly obvious."

Jack winced. Plainly obvious? It _wasn't _him! He tried to remove the gloves, but it was as if they were glued to his skin. Frightening.

"Please," he whispered, sinking to the ground. He didn't feel like he had any strength anymore. He didn't feel like he d_eserved _to have strength anymore. He wanted to break down, to give up, and to let them understand that they were wrong. That they are wrong. That _he was Jack Frost. _"You can't believe him . . . You're being tricked . . ."

"Shut your mouth!" Bunny snapped, baring his teeth at the boy.

"Drop it, you kangaroo."

Bunnymund's ear twitched. "Only Frost has ever called me that—"

"I am Jack Frost."

The bunny glared. "Don't you dare say that, and don't you dare use that terminology to me!"

The boy lifted his head, looking at all of the guardians. All of his friends. Each of them stood glaring, and he saw Nightmare standing satisfactorily, grinning ear to ear like the devil he was. He couldn't fight them. They believed with full heart that he was Jack Nightmare. The Bad Jack. Maybe if he couldn't fight them, he could talk, and they'd understand the sincerity of his words.

"Please . . ." He felt disgusted by the weakness dripping from his voice. Especially with that smug look on his double's face. "You can't believe him . . . he's going to hurt all of you . . . No, you guys can't believe him!"

"We don't believe in YOU," Bunny spat, looking down.

"You aren't our Jack," Tooth agreed darkly.

Sandy gave a nod and symbols flashed above his head, most of them angry and hurtful. North couldn't even look him in the eye.

The guardians exited the room without another glance his way. Jack's head hung. This couldn't be happening. It just _couldn't _be happening! He was a guardian. They were supposed to be able to differentiate each other. How could they not tell that he honestly was himself? How was this happening to him?

"Looks like you've given up."

Jack jerked up, the voice just like poison now. He found Nightmare smirking at him. It sent chills down his spine to see his own appearance looking so _evil. _The double was still bandaged up. Still looking just like _him_

Frost lunged at the fraud, only to be stopped by the bars of the cage. His arms extended out, fingers stretching and limbs flailing, itching to get a hold of the beast's neck so they could strangle the horrible . . . _thing. _But Nightmare was standing just out of reach.

"Get close so I can wring your little neck," Jack growled, almost surprising himself with the dark nature entering his voice.

"No, I won't," Nightmare snickered. Just to spite Jack, he leaned in so close, but just a hair's breadth out of Frost's reach.

"How did you do it? How did you change your appearance?!"

"I can change my form into any way that I've seen you appear to be. After all, I _am _you in another, better form. I can switch to my original form too, of course."

"Which is?"

Nightmare grinned and suddenly his form flashed to opposite colors: his hair jet black, eyes a metallic red, sweatshirt blood red, and his pants a faded gray. The only thing that stayed the same was his skin, except they seemed to pale even more, if that was at all possible. Then he looked just like Jack, back to normal.

"Oh my . . ." Frost couldn't even find the right words.

"Horrific, seeing yourself in Nightmare's colors?" the double snickered. Jack couldn't even get another word out. "Oh and there will be no doubt in the guardian's minds that you're Jack Nightmare by tomorrow."

The Winter Spirit finally found his voice. "What do you mean?"

But Nightmare only smiled and walked out of the room, leaving Jack Frost all alone.

"What do you mean?!" Jack screeched again, wanting someone to walk back into the room. For someone to care about him. It hurt so much, having no one care, having no one believe. It was even worse than when he first existed, though, because he knew that his friends were being tricked and were probably going to be put into a lot of danger very soon. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

But no one came. Because no one cared. No one cared about 'Jack Nightmare', who they had been led to believe was actually him. Eventually he felt so exhausted, even after doing nothing but screaming, that he lay down on the floor and just wept to himself. What were they going to do to him? Were they going to hurt him? _Kill _him? Was this how he was supposed to die? By his friends' hands?

Jack had always been afraid of being alone. Of never being loved. Of being left on his own, with nothing but himself and his memories—which he didn't even have when the fear was formed, centuries ago—until he faded away or died.

_One's end is drawing near, the newest guardian will be shown his fear._

It all made sense now.

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**There's the end of that chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it! I know that I took longer to post this chapter than I have with previous ones, so I apologize. I've been planning for how the continuance of the story is going to occur. I'll work on the next chapter straight away, but keep reviewing and telling me what you think, because I enjoy it to no end!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Oh my gosh. You guys are the absolute best followers! I have gotten 36 reviews, 19 followers and 14 favorites. This is so fantastic! I thank everyone who did and will review, because I absolutely love the reviews and feedback I get, I'm ecstatic that you all enjoy this chapter so much, and I ****_really _****hope you'll continue to follow and review! And, to the person who had a dream about my story, I hope it was a good dream.**

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Jack awoke the next day to loud, fearful shouting with a lot of anger mixed in with it.

"Where is he?!" He recognized Bunnymund's powerful tone without opening his eyes.

"How could he have gotten out?" That was Tooth, and she sounded more frantic than angry.

"Not even a Yeti could break the bars, but nothing is broken. Everything intact . . . and he couldn't have slipped through . . ." North just sounded confused.

Jack heard a tiny bell that always accompanied Sandy's signing. Several, actually. How many signs were he making?

With a quiet groan, he lifted his head from the cold hard ground, head throbbing. He didn't know when he fell asleep, but it must've been after he was crying. His eyes felt itchy and his face felt like oil was spread and dried over it. Dried tears. He rubbed his eyes and finally looked at the guardians, all of them looking frantic.

"He couldn't have!" Tooth cried, flying around the room as if she was looking for something.

Confused, Jack looked around. North was pacing and Bunny was glancing around the room as if something was going to jump out at him. The only person looking into the cage was Sandy, who was looking around like something else was inside the cage with the boy.

"What's going on?" he asked sleepily, yawning after. No answer. "Hey, seriously, what's going on?" He glanced around, expecting to see some gigantic creature inside with him, but saw nothing.

"He really is gone." Jack's blood ran cold and he finally noticed his double sitting against the cage, on the outside, looking casual. He was messing around with his staff—_Jack's _staff—and looked into the cage. They locked eyes and Jack saw Nightmare hiding a smile. "He escaped."

"Who?" Jack asked, still confused.

The guardians sighed and went to the cage, peering inside.

"I can't believe he escaped so easily," North mumbled. "It was supposed to be foolproof."

"Obviously not," Bunny growled, turning away. "Come on, maybe he's still in the workshop."

The guardians left, leaving Nightmare and Jack alone. Jack had no idea what was going on.

"They don't believe in you," Nightmare snickered, finally letting his giggles out.

"What are you talking about?"

"Couldn't you tell? They couldn't see you. Couldn't hear you."

Jack's eyes widened. "No . . . No, you're a liar!"

Nightmare just laughed again. "They didn't see! Didn't hear!"

Jack's hands balled into fists. "Why? What did you do to them? What kind of Fear magic did you use?!"

"None! I used none!" His double was nearly doubled over in laughter now. "They don't believe in you! They don't believe!"

The Winter Spirit nearly stopped breathing. "Wait . . . What? No . . . NO!"

"They don't believe! They can't see you, can't hear you, you don't exist to them!"

It felt as if an icy fist had just clamped down over Jack's chest. He couldn't get a breath in. His heart stopped beating. He was just numb, floating in the room as if he were just a ghost. The guardians couldn't see him? How? How could that even be possible? Weren't spirits always supposed to see each other?

"How did this happen . . .?" Jack whispered, his voice so faint Nightmare had to cup his hand over his ear to hear him.

"They believe that you are Jack Nightmare," the double explained. "So, they don't believe in you as Jack Frost. So they basically don't believe in you. Since they don't believe in you, it's just like how if the humans don't believe in you: you cease to exist, in their minds. Right now they think you just escaped in the night. They don't understand that you're really right there."

"But . . . But spirits are supposed to be able to see each other always!"

"That's because they believe in each other."

"But . . . But . . .!" Jack thought frantically for an explanation. "But they believed in me before they met me! I didn't have to convince them I existed!"

"The Man in the Moon told them of your being created. They already knew that you existed, so they knew to believe in you. But now, they don't think you are you. Therefore, they don't believe in you, Jack Frost." He smiled menacingly. "They believe in me."

None of this could be happening. It just wasn't right! Jack Nightmare shouldn't exist, Jamie should definitely _not _be the reason he was created, the guardians shouldn't think he's Jack Frost, and they should be able to see him! None of this should be happening!

"I can't believe this . . ." Jack mumbled, falling back against the bars of the cage. His eyes were wide and he felt the blood drain from his face. "I can't believe this could ever happen . . ."

"Well you'd better believe it," Nightmare hissed, getting close to Jack's ear. "Because this is one nightmare you can't wake up from."

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**I apologize for the short chapter, but I purposefully wanted to end this chapter on this cliffhanger. I promise that the next chapter ****_will _****be longer, and it ****_will _****be up soon. However, like all of my chapters, it ****_will _****end on a cliffhanger. Please review and let me know what you think!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Before you begin reading this fan fiction, I just wanted to inform my readers that I have a poll posted on my profile where you can give your opinion on if you want Jack to die or not. I may or may not go with what the results are. The poll is simply so I can get the readers' opinion and I can then decide who I want to complete this fan fiction. I thank anyone who has or will take part in the poll.**

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Jack's hand flew out and managed to make contact with Nightmare's face, sending him flailing backward. Good. That was the first hit he managed to land on the demonic double. When they made eye contact, Jack Nightmare's eyes were flashing the blood red iris in anger.

"You're going to pay for that, Frost," he growled, lunging forward and grabbing Jack's sweatshirt where a collar would be if he was wearing a collared shirt. "I swear, I'm going to kill you and it will be long and painful. That is _guaranteed._"

"You're a coward," Jack hissed. They were face to face, so close that they could feel the heat from their breath. "You hide behind a face that isn't really your own, but mine. Come on, there's no guardians here. Show me the real you. The real _Jack Nightmare!_"

Jack didn't know why he was trying to provoke his double, but he felt tired of playing the victim, being the person that everyone pitied. He hated the echoing voices of "Poor Jack . . ." in his head whenever the wind howled outside, or the chill that entered his body when he saw his Opposite. It was frustrating and he was prepared to do anything it took to get rid of the horrible feeling.

Nightmare's eyes narrowed and glared with even more venom piercing Jack's eyes as they stayed locked with each other. Then Nightmare's form flashed and he became his true self, with his black hair and violently red eyes and different colored clothes. "Is this what you want? You want to see yourself when you're evil?"

"If it proves to me that I'm not you, then yes."

Nightmare bared his teeth and shoved Jack away, sending him stumbling backward until he slammed against the other side of the cage. His head smashed against one of the metal bars, sending out a loud ringing sound. Jack gave a groan and slid down to the ground, his body feeling limp.

"I can be violent if you provoke me," Nightmare warned, a little too late.

"I don't care," Jack huffed, pulling himself to his feet. "You're still just someone who hides behind my own identity. You can't just show the guardians that you're Jack Nightmare and try to defeat us all like that—you have to get rid of me by tricking them."

"That's how I operate. You aren't going to make me change my plans this late in the game."

Jack silently cursed. He didn't exactly expect Nightmare to go out and tell the guardians who he was, but he hoped that it would've at least made the enemy hesitate, even just a little bit.

"Here, let's a have a little bit of fun, shall we?" Nightmare grinned and with one extended index finger, he shot a small pillar of fire at his double, which caused Jack to shout and jump around. "Yes, dance little monkey, dance!"

"Don't you dare call me that!" Jack growled, reflexively trying to throw some snow at his enemy. He cursed again at the gloves that covered his hands.

"Very frustrating, isn't it?" Nightmare snickered. "Must be hard not having anyone believe in you."

That was the breaking point for Jack.

He surged forward, thrashing out. Unfortunately, Nightmare was prepared for this and simply twisted Jack around. He rose off the ground, gripping Jack's arms so tightly that Jack was surprised blood wasn't being drawn. Jack also felt his feet leave the ground as Nightmare floated higher and higher, out of the open-topped cage.

"Jack!"

Both Jacks looked up in shock to find the guardians looking up, just as surprised and shocked.

"What . . . Why . . ." Tooth stuttered, staring in awe at Nightmare.

The double grinned with charm. "Well, what a position I seem to be in."

"You aren't Jack . . ." North whispered, stating the obvious.

"No," Nightmare admitted, shifting his weight comfortingly. "But I'm holding the real one."

"You're not holding anyone . . ." Bunny mumbled.

"You have to really believe he's here. Come on, think about it. I'm right here, holding your precious Jack Frost."

It was painful for Jack to watch his friends' eyes widen as he must have come into view. Symbols flashed above Sandy's head in panic, obviously signaling his surprise and shock that Jack suddenly appeared.

"Frost!" Bunny shouted. "How did you—"

Then their eyes fell on the gloves still attached to Jack's hands.

"Oh my God . . ." Tooth squeaked, covering her mouth. Tears had sprung into her eyes.

Jack didn't know if he should feel relieved or angry. It had taken that, _all of that_ for them to finally realize that they had caged up the wrong person. That they had taken their precious boy and treated him like an enemy. Like an animal. He didn't know how to react, so instead he stared at them with cold eyes and a neutral face.

"Jack . . ." North stated, still in shock.

Rage was starting to build up in Tooth's eyes. "G . . . Give our Jack back!" she hissed, zipping toward Nightmare at full speed. The double simply grinned and flicked his wrist. Shadows immediately encircled her and she gave out a cry as she fell back to the ground.

"Tooth!" Jack cried out. Sure, she had been the base of imprisoning him, but he couldn't help but feel worried when she got hurt. "Tooth, are you okay?!"

The Tooth Fairy just gave a disoriented groan in return as she sat up on the ground. The shadows slithered away from her and the other guardians just got out their weapons, suddenly even more fired up.

"We're going to _destroy _you, you . . . you . . .!" Bunny had no idea what to call him.

"Nightmare," Jack's double snickered. "Jack Nightmare, at your service. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that I have to take little Jack Frost here on an outing." Nightmare grinned evilly. "See you, kangaroo."

Before Bunny could even bark about how he was never to even utter that insult again, Nightmare was flying out of the workshop, still holding Jack securely under him.

"Let me go!" Jack shrieked, thrashing about in his grip.

"Do you really want me to let you go _now?_"

Jack gulped when he realized that the ground was a thousand feet below him and he still didn't have his staff. His staff! Where was it? Oh, of course. It was left back at the workshop. He wouldn't be able to fly without it. Not to mention that he still had those annoying gloves that kept him from creating even a small sprinkle of snow.

"Where are you taking me?" Jack asked breathlessly.

"A very special place." Nightmare smiled. "You see, Frost, I've been planning your demise ever since I was born."

"You want to be the only Jack."

"Correct. So I have searched far and wide for the perfect place for you to meet your end. I have finally found it."

"That's where we're going?"

Nightmare grinned. "Not quite yet."

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**I hope you will review on this chapter. I also hope that this chapter made up for the lack of length in the previous one. Comment and let me know what you think of this chapter. Thank you.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I want to apologize on the wait for this chapter. I also wanted to give a friendly reminder that the poll is still going on! So far only six people have voted—which I thank—and I encourage everyone else to vote! It's on my profile, so please vote on whether or not Jack should die. Thank you.**

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Jack craned his neck to look up at his double, feeling confused. "Not yet? Then where are we going?"

"Like I told you, when you die it is going to be long and painful. Full of suffering. So that's what I'm going to do: make you suffer."

Jack shuddered in Nightmare's grasp. "What are you going to do to me now?"

Nightmare only grinned and was silent for the rest of the flight. So was Jack.

Until he realized they had stopped over Burgess.

"What are we doing here?" he whispered, feeling dread instantly creep into his body. He scanned the ground to see several different kids playing in different areas of the town. Cars were backed up, as always, despite the smallness of the town. He spotted Jamie and the others having a snowball fight over by the fountain. "What are we doing here?!" he demanded again, more urgency in his voice.

"I decided to have a little fun." Nightmare grinned and his appearance disintegrated, changing into Jack Frost's appearance. He gave a short whistle and shadows surged up from the ground, wrapping around Jack's arms. Nightmare released him and the shadows held the Winter Spirit into the air.

"What are you going to do?" Jack seethed, worried about what he would do to the people below.

"You'll see," Nightmare said in singsong, floating down to the ground. "Hey, Jamie!"

Jamie turned and grinned. "Hey, Jack!"

"Jamie?" one of his friends said, putting their snowball down. "Who are you talking to?"

The boy looked back, confused. "Jack Frost. Don't tell me you don't believe in him anymore!"

"No, we do, Jamie," said another one of the boys, "but Jack isn't there."

"What are you talking about? He's _right there!_"

"Jamie," Nightmare whispered. The boy looked back, seemingly helpless.

"They can't see you, Jack!" he whimpered.

"Of course they can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm Jack . . . Jack _Nightmare._"

Before Jamie could ask what he meant, he gasped in fear. Nightmare's disguise as Jack Frost was melting off of him—literally. The white fell from his hair and his skin dripped off of his face and hands. Jamie shrieked and stumbled back, tripping and landing in the snow. The melting disguise fell onto the snow and it sizzled into water. "Jack Nightmare!" Jamie squeaked.

The other kids screamed too, as Nightmare came into their view. They ran away, scared at the horrific person that was in front of them. The evil Jack.

"Leave them alone!" Jack screamed in the air. He knew that they couldn't hear him from such a high altitude.

When his entire disguise had disintegrated, Nightmare swooped over and snatched up Jamie by the ankle, soaring high into the air, back up to Jack Frost.

"J-Jack!" Jamie cried, eyes tearing up.

"It's okay, Jamie," Jack insisted. "Everything will be all right."

"I'm scared . . ."

"Don't be! The guardians are going to help us, okay?"

Nightmare took off with his shadows following quickly with Jack still in their clutches. Jamie was starting to cry, the fear being too much for him to handle. Nightmare inhaled deeply through his nose and gave a low, menacing chuckle.

"This is too _easy_!" he laughed, even doing a flip into the air, which caused Jamie to shriek again. "Oh, the fear! It's the best meal I can have!"

"Leave him out of this!" Jack growled, trying to fight from his shadowed binds.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Nightmare chided, grinning. "Come now, if you end of dropping out of those shadows it's a plummet to your death!"

Jack froze up, eyes wide. What was he going to do? He couldn't fly away, Jamie was captured, and he was taking him to who knows where!"

"H-Hey," Jamie whimpered, looking up at his captor. "A-Are you like the Jack . . . from my . . . m-my nightmare?"

The double looked down, grin full of malice. "Why, yes I am, Jamie Bennett. In fact, I _am _the Jack from your dreams. You created me."

Jamie's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What?!"

"Don't be telling him that!" Jack shouted, anger bubbling inside of him. "You're going to ru—" He caught himself, choking on his words. _You're going to ruin his innocence! _His choice . . . his choice was coming.

"It's time, Jack Frost," Nightmare giggled, glancing back at his Opposite. "It's time for you to meet your death!"

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**Please review! I love all of the reviews that I've received, but like all authors, I want more! I love them and they motivate me to write faster and write better. Not to mention that I can sometimes use the ideas you guys comment or send to me, if you have them. Send me a PM if you do! Thank you and please review.**


	13. Chapter 13

Sleep.

Sleep had come to Jack a long while back. It had seemed like they had been flying—or really, being kidnapped—for ages. Jamie had quieted down about half an hour after Nightmare's announcement. Jack slowly stopped screaming at his double soon after. All of this was scaring him. What if Jamie got hurt? Jack could _never_ forgive himself if that happened.

"Wake up, Frost!"

Jack barely heard his double's voice before he felt the hard impact a wall. His body smashed into the ground after he fell forward. Snow grazed the edged of his fingertips. He woke up instantly, his fogginess disappearing almost immediately. He flinched and sat up, eyes widening. The Winter Spirit found his Opposite floating a few yards away. Carelessly, he tossed Jamie in the opposite direction. Thankfully, it wasn't as forcefully and Jamie landed with a lot less force. Still, the young boy gave a groan.

"Jamie!" Jack cried. He glared at Nightmare. "Where are we?"

Nightmare smiled. "Oh, a town a couple miles away."

Jack glanced around, taking in what he saw. Apparently they were in an alley, and there was some newly fallen snow that was already starting to melt, leaving patches here and there of cold rough cement while most of the ground was covered with the shiny white ice.

"I'm simply dropping off the useless kid," Nightmare added.

Jack's hands clenched and he bared his teeth. "He's not useless!"

"J-Jack!" Jamie stuttered. "Home . . . I'm too far away from home!"

"Don't worry, Jamie . . . Everything is going to be all right, okay?"

"But—"

"It's okay! You're going to be fine, we're going to get you back to Burgess."

Nightmare rolled his eyes and swooped down. He scooped Jack up by his ankles, much like how he had been carrying Jamie. "Just call for the guardians!" Jack shouted to Jamie as Nightmare whisked him away. "They come when they're called!"

"They may come when they're called by a child," Nightmare snickered, "and they may be able to hear your screams, but they'll never find you."

They were both silent for some time while Nightmare flew. For a small moment Jack could've sworn that he heard Jamie screaming, though he couldn't make out the words. But he had a very strong urge to go back to him, even more so than he already had. The Winter Spirit squirmed in Nightmare's grip, desperately trying to get away. He had even forgotten that he required his staff.

"I see the child called," his double muttered, tightening his grip. "Now shut up and don't move. Or I'll drop you and you'll die instantly."

It was hard, but Jack calmed his body enough to stop squirming. They flew for a while longer.

"You underestimate them," Jack finally growled, trying to reach up and claw his double's eyes out.

"Who, the guardians? Ha! I think I'm even _over_estimating them. After all, they couldn't even tell their precious boy apart from me. How could they possibly hope to save you? They're stupid, useless, and they might as well just disappear now because there will be a point when no one will believe in them . . ."

Something snapped inside of Jack Frost.

"ALL RIGHT THAT'S IT!" he shrieked, his anger suddenly boiling over at such an intense speed that he could barely contain it all. "YOU'RE A COWARD AND YOU CAN'T EVEN FACE ME HEAD ON! YOU HAVE TO TAKE ME TO A SPECIAL PLACE TO KILL ME? WHY DON'T YOU JUST FIGHT ME NOW AND MAKE IT A FAIR FIGHT?!"

His Opposite glared down at him, red eyes glowing. "It will be a fair fight, Frost. Believe me. I want to fight you more than you understand. But I have to find the. Perfect. Spot."

"And what is that?!"

Nightmare's gaze rose and his head nodded ahead of him. Jack twisted around so he could see and he gasped. He recognized that place. He knew it very well. After all, it was the place where he regained his memories.

"Why are we going there?" he breathed, complete disbelief encasing him. This place was far, far away from Burgess. Nightmare had been lying when he said they were just a few miles from Jamie's home.

"Ah, so you do recognize it. Good. I was hoping that you would." He smiled eerily. "Since it was the place where you recalled your memories, I thought it would be . . . best suited. Very ironic."

"What? Why? What do my memories have to do with memories have to do with anything?!"

"Because, Jack . . ." He looked down, his red eyes glowing like the hellfire that burned inside of him. "You're not real."

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**Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you again to everyone who reviewed and who has voted on the poll! I will be closing the poll in a few days and let the results be shown. A reminder that this poll is just to get the readers' opinion on whether or not Jack should die, and I may or may not use the most popular vote.**

**Please read and review; I hope you will enjoy this chapter, which I believe is the longest one in the story. I apologize in advance if the fight scenes aren't written well; I'm not that good at action.**

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Jack's eyes stared at his enemy in shock. "You're insane! I'm real! You're holding me, right now!"

Nightmare let out his deep snicker. "You're not understanding. Yes, you're real in a sense that I can hold you, that the guardians and the believing children can see you, but that's not what I mean by the fact that you're 'not real'."

"Then what do you mean?" Nightmare didn't answer. Just kept flying. "Hey, tell me!"

"Let's discuss it during our fight, shall we?"

"What? No! Tell me what you mean right now!"

"We're here." The double swung his arms and released Jack, sending the boy flying through the air. A tiny shriek escaped from him just before he crashed into the ground, face burying so far into the sand that the rest of his body flipped over his head, landing in a heap. He gave a tiny groan and just laid there in pain. "Oh my, don't tell me that I defeated you so easily!"

The Winter Spirit clenched his fists and slowly sat up, glaring at his Opposite with doubled vision. "No. And you said you wanted a fair fight, right? Well it's not fair if you can fly and I can't."

Nightmare threw Jack's staff into the snow in front of him. Apparently one of his Nightmare Minions had been following with the staff, just for this fight.

"And I warn you," the double growled, "if you dare to fly off right now, I will kill Jamie."

Jack's stomach did a flip. _"Kill?!"_

"Yes. Kill. So you had better stay and fight."

Jack shakily got to his feet, the impact of the landing and the shock of Nightmare's threat making his knees wobbly. "All right. Fine. I'll fight you."

Nightmare's lips curled up into a grin. "Wonderful." He surged forward, fire erupting from his hand.

Jack leapt into the air, twisting in midair and attempting to shoot ice at his enemy. He realized with sudden urgency that the gloves were still stuck on his hands. "W-Wait! This isn't fair!"

His double laughed loudly, twisted around and sliding on the now-melted snow so he was facing Jack. "Oh, yes, there is only one way to get those off."

"What's that?"

Nightmare smiled and shot two thin columns of fire from his fingertips at Jack so fast that the boy couldn't even react save for shifting his staff out of the way of the fire. The fire encased his hands, giving off such a searing hot pain, causing him to shriek so loudly that they could've caused an avalanche. When the fire finally stopped, the gloves had been melted off. But Jack's hands were glowing bright pink. He could barely hold his staff without feeling the pain.

"W-What . . .?!"

Nightmare grinned wider. "There. Now you can use your powers. Let's get this started.

The double shot toward Jack and the boy ended up having to shoot high into the air to escape from being hit. Nightmare changed his course so he was tailing the boy, cackling maniacally.

"You're insane!" Jack spat, spinning in the air and trying to shoot some frost at the double.

Nightmare just disintegrated the ice by encasing it with fire. "I was born out of insanity; that is for sure!" He laughed. "You know that you can't win, Jack! Fire always beats ice!"

"But good prevails over evil, right?!"

"That's what stories are for, Jack. You can't honestly believe that every single criminal that has ever lived ended up going to jail; some have survived to old age in doing their 'evil' deeds!"

More fire and ice were thrown around, the heat being overpowering and the air's temperature slowly rising. The ice below them started to melt.

"You're going to destroy this area!" Jack growled, attempting to smack Nightmare with his staff, only to miss completely.

"If I do, then it will be fine with me!" He catapulted a ring of fire at Jack and the boy shot high into the sky, where the air was thin. "Let's end this."

Summoning all of his powers within him, Nightmare outstretched his hands and fire erupted from his body, shooting with such extreme speed, and such a large sheet that Jack nearly froze in the air, just staring at the flickering colors and heat wave soaring toward him. He tried to duck down but suddenly he was encased in fire.

But it wasn't _on _him.

Jack looked around in wonder when he realized that the fire was a sphere around him. The fire was thin enough so that he could still see Nightmare staring at him through the flames, but definitely too hot to go through. He gripped his staff and tried to send out a few icy flakes to try to put out the fire, but with so little moisture in the air, and the utter heat around him, he couldn't even make a chill to lower the temperature.

A couple sparks flew at him and Jack cried out when they burned his hand, which still hurt tremendously.

"Release your staff, Jack," Nightmare taunted. "It's wooden. It will only spread the fire."

"I'm not letting go of this!" Frost called back with fury. He cried out again as a flame lit on his pant leg. He quickly patted it out.

"Of course you don't want to. That staff is the only thing that is real about you."

There it was again. _You're not real._

"What do you mean by that?! You say that I'm real one second and then I'm not the next!"

"You're not real. Not in actuality."

"How the heck is that?!"

"Think about it. You aren't r_eal_. You _died_, Jack. You should be a ghost. Something that should not still be alive. Yet you are. You're not real. The only thing that's 'real' is that staff that you're holding, since it came into your possession from the 'real' world. But everything else about you: the hair, the eyes, the skin, the whole _body _is nothing but something the Man in the Moon created."

"I am real! I'm alive and I help the world and guard the children's innocence and joy!"

"Oh really? You think you're so real? That your staff isn't the only 'real' thing to do with you?"

"Yes!"

"Then why don't you release your staff, Jack Frost? Why do you hold onto it and risk getting burnt to a crisp?"

"Because if I drop it then I'll drop and get burned in your fire!"

"On the contrary. The wind being held in that ball of fire is so secure that you'd stay floating. Only your staff would drop."

"I'm not letting go of this!"

"Why? Because you want to seem 'real' with it? Because you'll be _broken _without it? It's the one thing that keeps you sane, Jack. Right? Why won't you let go of it if you truly don't need it?!"

"Be—Because—!"

"_Drop the staff, Jack!_"

There was a larger flame that shot at jack. The boy ducked with a small shriek and his fingers fumbled with the wood. It slipped through his fingers and rolled over in the air, trying to grasp it. The end of the staff hit the flames. A streak of pain shot through Jack's chest and he jerked the staff up, curling his fingers around the smoldering end, cooling the charred wood.

"You will die without it, won't you?" Nightmare growled.

"No, I don't _need _it . . ."

"So then you still refuse to let it go?"

"Of course I do! I'm not letting go of anything of me that was or is!"

The enemy gave a small snicker. "Fine, then. Hold onto your toy. You will meet your end one way or another."

Nightmare smiled eerily and floated back a few yards. The sphere of fire surrounding Jack started to shrink until there was just enough room for his staff to fit without catching on fire. The boy started to panic but tried desperately to keep his cool.

"I can get out of this," he told himself frantically, his eyes searching around. No longer could he see clearly past the display of red, yellow, and orange; only a few glimpses here and there when the fire flickered thinly. He could, however, hear Nightmare's evil laughter just ahead of him. "There has to be a way out of this!"

Jack's voice caught in his throat and he gave a raspy cough. The air around him was growing thinner, smoke getting thicker. Was that Nightmare's plan? To suffocate him?

_I can get out of this!_

His eyes searched and he wracked his brain for an idea but nothing came to him. He was alone and trapped in a ball of fire. He was slowly losing oxygen.

He was going to die.

"Jack!"

The boy's ears perked at the shout of his name.

"J-Jamie . . .?" he rasped weakly.

"Jack!" That was the other guardians.

"Oh, what a bother," Nightmare sighed. "Nightmares! Hold them down.

Jack searched through the hot colors to barely make out his friends—including Jamie—being held down by shadows, far beneath him.

"Jack! Get out of there!" Jamie cried desperately.

"C-Cant . . ." Was he being serious? Couldn't he see that he was _trapped _in fire?

"Jack, you can do this! You can get down!"

"Help . . ." Jack felt weak. Nightmare cackled with laughter. There wasn't anything that the boy could do to help the guardian, and Jack couldn't exit the fire without burning himself. The pain was even more severe for a winter spirit. For _the _Winter Spirit.

"Jack?" There was Tooth's concerned voice.

"No . . . air . . ." There was an audible gasp from the guardians far below him. Long ago he'd told them about his memories. They knew that he had died by suffocation, under the freezing cold water. They knew that he must be absolutely terrified . . .

To die without air again.

"Jack!" Bunnymund? Was Bunny talking to him, sounding so utterly concerned and frantic? Was he calling Jack Frost by his _first name?_ "Jack, listen to me, a'right, mate?"

"O . . . kay . . ." Jack's throat burned. The little breath he could get was filled with heat and smoke, making his throat raw.

"You can do this, mate! I know it hurts, but ya gotta just go right through the fire!"

Easy enough for him to say.

Jack couldn't get a single breath, now. All the oxygen was gone. He could feel his head start spinning. A guardian could die, couldn't they? He had thought that they would only disappear if children didn't believe in them. But they were made up like real humans. They could die like real humans, couldn't they?

"Go through the fire, Jack!"

The boy gritted his teeth. Slowly, cautiously, Jack took the biggest breath, feeling the tiniest sliver of oxygen enter his body along with a bunch of smoke and the searing feeling of pain. He could do this. He gently lowered the staff. When it touched the flamed, he felt the pain surge though him again, but he tried to ignore it and continued to lower further. When his feet touched the flames it was hot and seemed to destroy his entire being. He was made from cold; the flames and heat were killing him!

A deafening, determined scream came from deep within Jack and he burst out of the flamed cage, feeling his whole body burn and shriek in pain, but he was happy to finally get a full breath. It was full of such relief . . .

Then he felt something sharp against his throat. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Nightmare standing in the air over him, eyes glowing with such anger that Jack nearly passed out from the pure fury penetrating into his eyes. Jack was vaguely aware that the thing pressed against his neck was a kind of sword made out shadows.

"I'm going to kill you," Nightmare growled. "That. You can be sure of."

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**Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope that you will vote in the poll if you have yet to do so. I also hope that you will review with what you thought of this chapter and what you think of Jack Nightmare in general, since his personality has seemed to fluctuate throughout the story. Thank you for continuing to read through all these chapters!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I will be closing the poll right after I post this chapter. This is not the last chapter, however. There is still one, maybe two, chapters left for me to write. I have decided on how I will end the story and I thank everyone that took part in the poll. Please review on what you think of this chapter; thank you!**

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Jack just barely had time to duck before Nightmare swung his shadow sword with such force that it surely would've decapitated him. His double was suddenly fighting with renowned vigor. He was angered. He was angry that it had taken him this long to kill off Jack.

The Winter Spirit jumped back a few feet and took a deep breath. It was time to really end this. With all of his power deep within him, he let all of his frostbite power erupt from him; much like Nightmare had the fire come out of him, but this time Jack shot all of it at Nightmare with no intent to just suffocate his enemy. He was going to destroy him.

When the frost had finally disappeared, after several minutes of smashing against Nightmare, the enemy still floated in front of him, his anger apparent. Jack gave a startled gasp.

"How did you survive that?!"

"There's only one way to kill me Frost! One way and one way alone. Not that you would want to attempt it anyway; it would result in your death!"

Time froze. For a long moment, nothing moved and Jack realized what everything meant. Everything that he had been pondering on about the prophecy finally made complete sense.

The choice that he had to make, the one that would result in his death. This was the choice. He had to decide whether he wanted to live, and let Nightmare run free and wreak havoc, or he had to kill Nightmare. And die in the process.

"What way would that be?" Jack asked, dodging another shot of fire.

"Why would I tell you? You might actually be crazy enough to try!"

_Dang it, _Jack thought angrily, swooping around in the air in order to avoid the attacks. _I need to know how he's supposed to die! What the heck am I supposed to do?! _He gasped, realizing. _The winds! They could tell me. If they knew of the prophecy then they have to know how to kill this guy!_

While still maneuvering, he concentrated hard, asking and begging and pleading with the winds to tell him instead of giving the riddles or vague answers.

_I want to make the right choice!_ he plead in his mind, riding the winds so they could hear him easier. _Please, just tell me how to defeat him!_

It seemed like they weren't going to tell him. He heard nothing from them, only the usual howling that filled his ears as he rushed past. But then, he heard a voice clearer than most of the wind spirits. That meant that they were all talking as one, something as rare as hearing something from the Man in the Moon.

_You are opposites . . . In order for you to destroy him, you must get close to him . . . As close as possible, even hugging him . . . and send the ice straight into his body . . ._

There was a moment when Jack was just confused by the explanation. How would this kill him? How could it result in his death? How—

Oh. He got it. If he could send ice right into Nightmare's body, then Nightmare could send fire right into his.

_For the good of the children, _he reminded himself. It was that thought that got him to stop flying around like a bug and turn around to face his enemy. Nightmare gave an animal-like call and he rammed the sword right through Jack's stomach. The Winter Spirit gave a choked sound and a bit of blood dribbled from his mouth.

"Jack!" the guardians shrieked far below on the ground, still being held down by the thousands of shadows. Jamie's scream was louder than the rest.

_For the children . . . For Jamie . . ._

Jack's arms wrapped around Nightmare's, his hands pressing into his back and sending ice into Nightmare's body. The double shrieked in pain and instantly started doing the same to Jack, but with the opposite element.

Pain shot into Jack's body, going through each muscle, each nerve, each drop of blood, each organ. Everything was giving a painful ache, his energy disappearing like an exhaled breath into the air. Still, he kept at it. He could feel that Nightmare was growing weaker as well.

Just when Jack felt as if he couldn't stand it any longer, he heard a tiny whisper in his ear: "Congratulations, Jack Frost . . . You've defeated me . . . at the cost of your own life . . ."

With that, Nightmare disappeared in his arms, bursting into a big show of shadows and sparks. The guardians cheered below, unaware of Jack's pain. His mind was swirling, his vision had already failed on him, and he felt like he could barely get a breath.

Then his staff slipped through his fingers.

"Jack!" the five on the ground cried as his body fell like a comet towards the icy ground. Jamie's eyes were widened in fear and shock. Her cry was louder than the rest. The guardians struggled at their binds, but the Nightmare Minions just looked confused. Their master was gone. Were they supposed to let their captives go, or was this part of their master's plan? They just kept the captives held down, not wanting to be punished by Nightmare.

Jack zoomed through the air, his eyes fluttering open and shut. Part of his vision was miraculously still there, though it was very blurry and he could barely make anything out.

_My staff . . . _he thought drunkenly, _where's my staff?_

His vision doubled and then tripled. He couldn't concentrate on anything. He barely saw the outline of his staff for a split second and it was too far away to grab. _It came d-down to this . . . But why . . .? Why did Nightmare . . . have to be created . . .?_

With a loud _BOOM _he slammed into the ground, ice splintering and his body slid several more feet, snow parting from his body as if his head was a snow plow. The guardians shrieked and at the loud noise the Nightmare Minions got startled. They released the guardians and Jamie, scampering away in fear, which was ironic, considered they fed off of fear. Relieved that they were finally free, but still filled with concern for Jack, the guardians raced after him. North picked up Jamie so he could keep up with them.

When they arrived, Jack's sprawled body was half covered in snow. Blood was trailing from his abdomen, staining the brilliant white snow a deep deathly red. North tried to cover Jamie's eyes but the boy insisted on staring at his idol; his friend. Jack's eyes were closed.

"Where's his staff?" Bunnymund demanded.

"Got it!" Tooth fluttered over to the wooden staff a few feet away. She stumbled with worry on the way back and handed it to the Easter Bunny.

"Jack," Jamie whispered, jumping out of North's arms. He scrambled over to the boy, grabbing the staff out of the bunny's hands as he did. "Jack!"

He knelt over him and shoved the staff into his hands, curling his fingers around it. "Jack, Jack, wake up!" The Winter Spirit didn't move. "Jack, please!" He ran his hands over his face. His movements slowed and he fell back onto his butt, hands dropping into his lap.

"Jamie?" North whispered.

"Is he . . .?" Tooth whimpered, covering her mouth with her hand.

"He's . . ." Jamie blinked like he couldn't believe it. "He's warm."


	16. Chapter 16

The fairy put both her hands to her mouth and looked away, trying to keep her squeaks from being audible. She went to North, who wrapped a hand around her comfortingly. Sandy looked down, playing with his Dreamsand absently, not really realizing that it was making different forms of Jack having fun in the snow. Bunnymund's ears went flat against his skull. Warm. Jack can't be warm. He's Jack _Frost! _If he was warm, that meant . . .

"Not just warm . . ." Jamie mumbled. "He's . . ." The boy gave out a small noise and buried his face in his hands.

The Tooth Fairy fluttered over and sunk down to her knees next to the small boy. She gave him a light hug. "It's all right, honey . . ."

Jamie stared at Jack, who still hadn't moved. Slowly, he put his childish hand over his teenage one. "Come o-on, Jack . . . We need you. Who's g-gonna make the snow fall? Make unexpected snow days and give children a reason to run around and l-laugh?" He sniffed and wiped his eyes again. "Who's g-gonna prove to me that the guardians exist when the snow d-doesn't fall again?" His fingers curled around his hand tighter.

"Come on, dear."Tooth slowly pulled Jamie away, trying to be gentle. He burst into new tears and led him over to the sleigh, which had been their method of transportation. North started to go to Jack, to pick up his lifeless body, when Bunnymund stepped out slightly in front of him. The Easter Bunny turned his head slightly and North could tell by the look in his eyes that he shouldn't touch the boy. The large Russian nodded and took a couple steps back, going to the sleigh with Sandy by his side.

Bunny knelt next to the teenage boy and gathered him up into his arms. He cringed when he found that Jamie was right, and that Jack Frost was very, very warm. Like when a normal boy had a high fever.

"Oi, Mate . . ." the bunny whispered, bringing the boy close. Jack, so lively, so outgoing, so _childish_, was now just a frail figure in his arms. It broke the bunny's Australian heart. Slowly, he turned and shuffled back to the sleigh, where everyone else was already seated.

No one said a word

As Bunny sat down in the back of the sleigh, the usual fear still welling up in the back of his throat from flying, but mostly it was the sadness and the thought that _he could've done something._

_No, be quiet, _Bunnymund thought to himself as he stared down at the Winter Spirit. The sleigh took off, North guiding the reindeer. _You tried everything. Those Nightmares were just . . . just too powerful._

Weak. He was weak. They were all weak! How could they be held down by something as simple as _shadows?_

"Bunny," Tooth whispered. The Australian was brought out of his thoughts as he looked over to the fairy. "You're . . ." She gulped, obviously not wanting to say the words. "You're being . . . bled on."

Bunnymund looked down to see with dismay that she was right. The wound in Jack's stomach was still bleeding, staining the bunny's fur to a dark, disgusting color. He felt tears prick in his eyes at the sight but he blinked them away.

"Here." North skillfully took off his thick coat and tossed it to the rabbit. "Lay him on that."

"You'll get cold . . . And your coat . . ."

"I can wash the coat easier than you can wash your fur. And I'm a winter spirit as well. The cold doesn't affect me as much."

Giving a slight nod, Bunny did as he was told. He laid the coat over his lap and put the boy on top of that.

_Wake up, Frostbite, _Bunnymund thought, tears forming in his eyes once more. _Come on. Wake up and call me a kangaroo, or whatever. I don't care! Just wake up . . ._

Jamie leaned against the giant bunny, staring down at Jack's face. There was a pink hue to his skin. Not good. The tears already pouring from his eyes came down harder and he choked down a sob. Tooth looked away, not being able to stand seeing her little boy hurt so much. Jamie closed his eyes, finally blocking out the sight and Bunny also looked away, trying to block the tears out of his eyes.

A tear rolled down the young boy's cheek and fell, landing on Jack's face. "Please come back, Jack . . ." the boy whimpered, making the other Guardians cringe.

The tear slowly changed. It grew colder on the boy's cheek until it froze into a neat snowflake on Jack's cheek. Sandy perked up, eyes widening. Several signals went off above his head and he pointed and waved his hands.

"Please stop, Sandy," Tooth sighed wearily, not looking back. Sandy gave a soured look and wished he had an elf to ring. The Sandman stared eagerly at the boy, silently encouraging him with all of his tiny little heart.

A sudden forceful gasp erupted from the teenage boy's lips, his body wracking and shivering. The other guardians gave a gasp and looked at him with hopeful surprise. North had to quickly look back up front to steer the reindeer in the right direction, though he kept his ears open.

"Jack!" Jamie cried happily, trying to wipe his eyes dry.

The Winter Spirit's eyes fluttered a bit and seemed to be able to focus on Bunnymund. His hand gripped around Bunny's fur so tightly that his knuckles were pure white. "T-The kids . . ." he rasped, still trying to get a good breath.

"It's a'right, Mate," Bunny said, nearly laughing with relief. "They're safe, the kids are safe . . ."

Jack just gave a slight shake of his head, showing that Bunny didn't understand. "B-Believers . . ."

Bunnymund's eyebrows crinkled together, confused, until Jamie gasped and pointed to his town below. "The snow!" the boy cried.

The guardians looked down and gasped when they saw, that even though they were in the dead of winter, all the snow had melted. The streets were slick with water but there wasn't a single snowflake inside. They also saw children looking depressed and mumbling to themselves.

"They don't believe in Jack," Tooth whispered with fear. "His body is warm, is that why the snow melted . . .?"

"Jack, what do we—" Jamie stopped when he looked at the Winter Spirit to see that he had passed out. "Jack!"

"It's all right," Tooth said. "We'll get him back to the workshop. But you have to get the children to believe in Jack Frost again, okay? He needs to heal but he needs believers to heal faster."

Jamie nodded, accepting the task. "I'll do it. I'll get everyone to believe!"

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**There's the end of this chapter, but not the end of the story. Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Also, review and tell me if you are a believer of Jack Frost!**


	17. Chapter 17

**This is the final chapter. It's short, but meaningful. Thank you and enjoy!**

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"He's waking up!"

"About time, it's been weeks."

"Shh! He can hear you . . ."

Jack's eyes fluttered open and his vision was blurry. It cleared quickly and he found the other four guardians looming over him. He gave a small groan. "What happened . . .?"

"You've been passed out for some time, Frost," Bunny explained. "You must finally be healed. And have a bunch of believers."

The Winter Spirit moaned and sat up, holding his head as it ached. "W-What?"

"Jamie's been working hard to spread the word that Jack Frost exists!" Tooth explained excitedly. "There are people who are starting to believe you all across the country! It's fantastic!"

"Really . . .? Jamie did that?"

"Yes! He spread the word to his friends and classmates who told their friends in other states and so on! You got better and better with every believer that was made." She grinned wide.

"Jack Nightmare . . . He's gone, right?"

North nodded. "He burst into shadows and flames. He seems to be destroyed, Jack."

"Good, good . . ." He rubbed his eyes. There was a soft pain in his stomach, but he could live with it. His body temperature wasn't cold enough, though. "I'm tired."

"That's hard to believe," Bunny muttered. "You've been unconscious for weeks!"

"Eh, I probably just got to get moving."

"NO!" Tooth cried, fluttering around. "You're still hurt . . ."

"I'll be fine. Besides, the kids of the nation deserve some winter." The boy slowly got to his feet, leaning in his staff, which was placed next to his bed. He glanced around, realizing that he was in the infirmary section of North's workshop. "Ah, North Pole. At least it'll be nice and cold outside."

North gave out a hearty laugh. "It's been warmer than usual with you passed out, Jack. Go! Go and give the children what they deserve for believing!"

Jack grinned mischievously and flew out the window, despite Tooth's shrieks of protest. He gave out his usual childish laugh as she soared through the air, doing flips and barrel rolls and having plain fun. He even sent a new flurry of snow to fall over the workshop.

"You've got work to do," he reminded himself. He took off for Burgess, his smile wide.

He'd never felt so alive! With so many children believing him, he felt as if he could bury the whole world in snow. Not that he would want to.

As soon as he arrived at the town, he felt a little sad. There was no snow. It was all dry.

_I'll have to change that, _he thought, smiling. He spun fast in a circle, sending snow falling everywhere. Snow soon blanketed the town. He stopped spinning, still letting a gentle snowfall continue, and laughed out loud when he heard the children laughing and playing. He froze, completely abuzz with happiness when he heard children shriek his name in joy. Children that had never once believed in him.

"Thanks Jamie," he said quietly as he took off for other parts of the country.

He brought down snow here and there, in big blizzards or tiny snowfalls. He'd never felt so . . . so happy! Believers in every town, every state! He was completely giddy.

By the end of his work day, he'd given every winter country their well deserved snow day. He flew back to his lake and just settled in the center of it. The moon shone brightly overhead and he smiled, lying back against the ice. His eyes closed and he felt exhaustion overtake him as he started to drift off. He imagined every child that he saw who believed, heard every utter of his name. He especially thought of Jamie's smiling face.

"Thank you so much for believing."

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**That's the end of the story! And, yes, that was Jack Frost thanking YOU for believing. Thanks to everyone who insisted that they believed in the comments! Thank you to everyone who reviewed at all, who took part in the poll, who favorite or followed, and who read the story! I will be writing another ROTG fan fiction so keep on the lookout. The first chapter will be up soon. Please give your final review for this story!**


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